


Old Wounds

by falicewins



Series: Falice One Shots by falicewins [13]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gunshot Wounds, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:28:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22600234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falicewins/pseuds/falicewins
Summary: ''You're not alone, FP. And I guarantee you that you'll never be alone again.''
Relationships: Alice Cooper/FP Jones II
Series: Falice One Shots by falicewins [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1626064
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Old Wounds

With a wet towel now touching the fresh flesh wound on his body he winced in pain by the direct touch. Alice carefully dipped the towel against his hurt skin as she looked up at him. His eyes were closed and he gritted his teeth trying to get through the pain. He hold his breath as if it would help him get through it as the tepid water tingled his healing wound.

FP had been home for just a few hours now, with instructions from the doctor to clean his shot wound at least three times a day to stop it from getting an infection. Alice knew that FP wasn't going to take this advice seriously since it wasn't the first time he was shot, but she wanted him to recover as soon as possible and made him sit down on the couch so she could properly clean the wound.

It was almost bedtime, so Alice had been dressed in her pyjamas already, ready to go to bed afterwards. He was shirtless now, so his wound would be exposed and his hands clenched into his maroon colored sleeping shirt to ease some of the burning on his skin. She wiped with her fingers over his cheek and tried to look at him, but he could just stare down at the wound and how the white towel was now covered in red blood stains.

''Does it hurt?'' Alice asked softly, as she brought the towel towards his body again. He looked at her movements and breathed out the moment the cotton fabric touched his skin again. Slowly but steady the burning feeling made place for a calming feeling, now she clenched some of the dirt of it.

''It's fine.'' He breathed out in pain and now looked up at her for the first time since she made him sit down. Actually he was everything but fine but he didn't want to have the confrontation about his actions with her.

Tonight had made him feel alive, even if was ironic that he risked his life that night. The flesh wound was hurting, which was a good sign that it was healing, but it didn't mean that what happened yesterday night wasn't dangerous.

She took some time to answer as she grabbed a new fresh bandage that she wrapped around his arm and part of his chest. As carefully as possible she patted on the wound, making sure it was secure before her eyes looked up at him again.

Looking at that wound not only made her realise that he was physically hurting, but it made her open her eyes about his decision to put on his Serpent jacket again. There was no bone in her body that wanted him to feel like a prisoner in his Sheriff uniform, but the thought of him risking his life now he was Serpent King again terrified her til in her core.

FP couldn't notice Alice staring at him, tears welling up in her eyes as he tried to tighten the bandage a little, until her hand slid slowly into his own. He stopped his movements and now looked at the teared up woman in front of him. As he saw that she fighting to not let her tears fall he squeezed her hand.

''It's just a wound, Al. I'll be fine.'' He said assuringly, hoping that it was enough to convince her that he didn't get defeated that easily. By the look on her face he thought that she was more worried about the shot incident than he was and he couldn't quite figure out why. 

As someone practically born into the Serpent and becoming king at young age he knew what he was doing. In a way he almost saw the wound as a victory, as if it was a sign that he was back in the game.

In one night back as Serpent King he had helped Archie and therefore the town more than he had when he was on duty as the Sheriff. Not because he didn't work hard, but because he was so limited in what he could do. It felt satisfying to take matters into his own hands and serve some justice with his fists as his weapon instead of his Sheriff badge.

Alice poked her tongue into her cheek and shook her head as she looked down at their intertwined hands, taking her own back out of his.

''What if they don't miss the next time, FP? Now it's your arm, but it could be--'' Her voice cracked in the middle of her sentence, unable to even say those words out loud.

Only the thought of him getting hurt worse than this made her want to burst out into tears. She wasn't ready to lose him, not now they finally found their way back to each other.

''I took a risk, Alice. To protect Archie. To help him out of this mess in a way I couldn't as Sheriff. Fred would have wanted me to.'' He was fully convinced of the words he said to her out loud, but she could barely understand what he was saying.

In her eyes going after a criminal that was armed and probably was the one responsible for shooting him wasn't taking a risk. That was putting your own life in danger.

Alice stood up from the small stool she was sitting on and turned around as she didn't want him to see slowly break down. With her back turned against him, and her arms crossed over her chest she started to speak.

''Is this wat Fred would have wanted? You getting shot? Archie getting hurt? Fred wasn't a man who took justice in his own hands, and you know that.'' She blurted, not being able to stop her tears anymore as she turned around again to face him.

Seeing her with those red puffy eyes and the glinstering form her tears in the small light that was covering the living room he understood that it wasn't about the Serpent jacket or anything close to that. Maybe it wasn't about that fact that he got injured. Maybe it was just her fear of losing him.

He putted on his shirt again as carefully as possible to not break any of the still fresh stiches. FP had difficulty standing up on his own, but he gritted through the pain as one hand was supporting his chest, covering his wound and his other hand pushed himself up on the arm of the couch just so he could walk over to her.

She looked small, sad and worried all at the same time, which was what made him want to hold her against his chest and tell her that it would be alright. He wasn't scared of him getting hurt, but he knew she was.

''When Fred was my sponsor... we made a pact.'' FP slowly started. It was hard for him to even think back to that, not only because it was a dark time in his life, but because he wanted to make Fred proud so badly.

He could never break the pact he made with his best friend. Not even if he was staring down on them from above.Alice look softened and she waited for FP to explain further, as he did.

''We promised each other that if something would happen to one of us one day that we would take care of each other's family.'' He said quietly, thinking back of the way how Fred was the one that proposed this and now he could almost feel the touch of that handshake again.

He had looked into Fred's eyes and he knew that he would keep his words. He was a good man. He would take careof his family if he would drink himself into oblivion one day. All that time FP thought it was a promise Fred had made to protect FP, but it turned out to work the other way around. FP was the one that had to keep the promise and keep both Archie and Mary safe.

Alice held out her hand, which he gratefully accepted and took another step into her direction. The tears had escaped his eyes now, but this time he didn't care that she saw him like that. He missed his friend every day and all he could do to make him feel close was to protect Archie, as he felt like he failed to protect Fred.

''He took in my son when I was at my lowest, Alice. Without a second thought he treated my boy as his own. It's my turn to return the favour, to do the same thing Fred would do for me in a heartbeat. Archie is family now.'' His voice cracked and his lip started to tremble, but Alice stopped him from completely breaking down as she placed her forehead against his, making both of them closing their eyes.

She slowly pecked a kiss on his lips to stop them from trembling as her left hand caressed the wound on his right shoulder. It was the first time he had told her about the promise they had made each other, and even if it didn't took her deeply terrified feeling away she could understand where he was coming from.

''I just can't bare the thought of losing you.'' She suddenly cracked out, filling the room with her quiet sobs. His hands slid slowly from holding her lowers arms to cup her cheeks to make her look up to him. Her sad blue eyes met his brown ones and now he was so close the could see her fear for the first time.

FP had never felt like someone was afraid to lose him. He had always seen himself as someone others would be better of without, someone that was ruining the life of both his sons and his daughter. Maybe even someone who shouldn't even be on this planet.

But now he had Alice in his arms, being so afraid of losing him and it hit him that she must really love him in a way nobody had ever loved him before. He was sure that he had always loved her in a way that he couldn't think of another day without her, but he never thought for a second that she felt the exact same way. He just always assumed that he loved people more than they could ever love him, simply because he thought he wasn't worth to be loved that way.

''You won't, that's a promise. You will need more than a shot wound to get rid of me.'' He chuckled slightly as his hands travelled back to her lower back and carefully pushed her closer to his chest. Alice smiled through her tears for the first time that night as her arms stroke up and down his upper arms.

''That's good. Because I want you with me for the rest of my live. I need you with me.'' She let out in a quiet whisper, as she said something that made her feel so vulnerable.

He couldn't resist kissing her again, making it more passionate than the small peck she had given him not that long ago. He wasn't good with words, but his actions always proved that the feeling was mutal.

''Thanks for keeping up with me, Alice.'' He said quietly, after breaking their kiss. She smiled and caressed his cheek as her eyes were twinkling again.

''Let's get you to bed.'' She let her hand slid from his arms to intertwine with his hands as she wanted to walked towards the stairs. She had seen the smirk on his face that said he had plans with her, but she stopped walking and firmly pointed her finger at him.

''The doctor said no funny business, Jones.'' She hinted on the advice of the doctor to not do any activities that might rip the stitches and make the wound bleed again, so for at least a week they needed to keep their hands of each other.

Once again, Alice was more the type to follow his doctor's advice because she wanted him to get better as soon as possible, but FP was someone to easily cheat on the rules that he didn't agree with in the first place.

''If they didn't want me to they shouldn't have send me a sexy nurse.'' He said before crushing his lips down on hers as they stumbled over to the stairs.

For a moment he had her over powered now she felt his tongue entering her own mouth, which made it hard to push him back, until the tried to hoist her up but hurt himself forgetting for a moment that he was injured.

He gritted his teeth and winced, as he placed her down on the floor again. ''Careful there, you're hurting yourself.'' She tried to hold back a grin, wanting to tell him that she had been right all along as he tried to force a smile on his face, not wanting to show her that he was in pain and just go on with what he had started.

She grabbed his hands again as she pressed a kiss on his shirt over the place where his injury was and lead him up the stairs, walking over to their bedroom. Before he would lay down she rearranged some of the pillows, so he could rest his arm on there and so she could snuggle up on the other side.

As he got under the covers she walked over to the other side of the bed to climb in there as well and rested against his good shoulder. His arms wrapped around her as tightly as possible as he pressed a sweet kiss on her forehead.

He stared at an invisible spot on their white ceiling, processing everything that had happened today. There was a chance he could have died that day and above it all Jughead broke the news to him that he has found his father.

Every bone in his body hated his dad, thinking of everything that he has caused him. Not only he took out his anger on him, he would never forget the way he had beaten up his mother. Above it all he had ruined FP's whole future and change to go to college the moment he had broken his wrist.

''You're spiraling.'' Alice whispered, looking up at him. Her words broke him out of his trance. He hadn't said anything out loud yet, but still she managed to see that there was going on something more than he was saying to her.

He turned his face to her and tried to say something, but there wasn't something coming out of his mouth. What was he supposed to say if he wasn't sure how to feel about it? ''What is it?'' She said quietly, as she stroke his chest.

''Jughead found my old man.'' FP said in an almost inaudible whisper, looking right into her eyes.

It didn't take much time for Alice to realise how big this news is. She had seen from very close how much damage that man had done to him. It had taken her a lot of time to see that FP had become the man he once was because of his father.

He had only to thank himself for getting back on track, but he had been close to suffering the same faith. She would never forget the endless nights of him being wrapped up in her arms after his dad had beaten him. And if it wasn't his dad causing trouble it was her being held by his embrace when her mom screwed up again.

''He did what?'' Alice whispered in disbelief. She hadn't even known that he was on the quest to find Forsythe senior, let alone that he had actually found him.

FP had mentioned it once or twice that Jughead had mentioned grandfather, but she never thought this had become a huge thing. Then again she wasn't really surprised that this was what Jughead had done, considering that he could never let things to rest.

''Jughead wants him to visit me, have proper talk. I just--'' His throat had tightened just thinking of his dad and all the pain he had caused him, but another part of him had always hoped that one day things would be fine between them, even if that seemed more like a fairy tale than something that could actually happen.

Alice pushed herself up and rest against the headboard as he followed her movements. His arm was still around her, feeling the need to keep her close now they came to the subject of his father.

If he had been alone, still living in the trailer he would have never even considered talking to his old man again, but now she was at his side and he had bettered his life he was actually thinking about it. He could show his dad how his actions no longer had impact on him in a way that it had power over his life.

''Just don't think about what Jughead wants for just one second. What is it that you want?'' She asked him quietly while stroking her hand up and down his thigh.

He looked at the placement of her hand and rubbed his eyes before looking at her again. In all honesty he hadn't even thought about what he really wanted yet, he was mostly considering doing this for his son.

Alice knew that FP would do anything for Jughead, even facing his abusive father who ran away like a coward, just to make his son happy, even if that confrontation could shake loose some old feelings that should be buried forever.

''I barely even know what he looks like anymore. All I can remember is the way he could get angry over the smallest things, as if something was triggering him, seeing me and mom as the rightful target to ease some of that.'' FP croaked out, his eyes wandering to her hand that was now squeezing his leg as if she wanted to comfort him with just a touch.

''Sometimes I can still hear the sound of her screams echoing through my head, like it's stuck in there forever. A talk isn't going to change that.'' At this point he was more talking to himself than to Alice, as if he was trying to convince himself that he shouldn't go see his dad. He wasn't even wrong. Things weren't going to change if senior would visit them, it could only make things worse.

The more he thought about his old man, the more the anger was boiling up in his body, and trying to find a way out of his mouth.

''He took away my only chance to go to college, Alice. He had power over me my whole life, and I am done with that. All these years he has been dead to me and he always will be. That man can rot in hell.'' The more he started to ramble the louder he started talking, now looking at a spot in front of him as if he was looking at his father at the end of the bed.

He squeezed his free hand into a fist, making his knuckles turn white and feeling the hurt go to his injury and his shoulder. The pain should have woken him up out of his trance, but he was to boiled up with anger to even pay attention to his aching wound.

There was something else though that made him wake up out of his rage. It were Alice's hands both grabbing his own to unfold the fist he had made. His face softened, realising that he had almost been yelling in the middle of their bedroom to someone who wasn't even physically there.

''If you don't want him here then he is under no circumstance welcome in our house, okay? I'm not forcing you to go through that. But hearing you say this makes me think that it could be good for you to say this right at his face. For closure.'' She said carefully, hoping that he knew that if he really didn't want to see him ever again that she would never make him, but now she saw him raging as if his father was standing in front of him she felt like he needed to close this chapter, even if he thought he had already did that.

FP let out a big breath that he had been holding in, and looked at the way her thumb was stroking his knuckles, which was a gesture that really eased his nerves.

''I'm not sure I can face him, Alice. I'm afraid of what it will do to me, that it will play with my mind and make the make the same mistake all over again. My old man got a thousand chances to make things right. At some point it's just too late.''

He rested his head against hers and she pecked a kiss on his cheek as she grabbed the covers to drab over them to keep both of them warm. Since they had shifted from their position she snuggled up closer to him again, and turned his head towards hers by placing on his cheek.

''You don't have to make decision right away. You can think about it. I just want you to make a choice that you feel comfortable and at peace with, okay? No matter what others think. I'll support it no matter what.'' She assured him, knowing that he needed to hear that for him to make a well thought through decision.

He was someone who would do a lot to please others instead of thinking for himself, especially since he would always feel like he needed to make up for every mistake he had made before. His kids were his first priority and he would do everything to please them. But when it came to something so personal he had to do things for himself, at least for this one time.

''You're not alone, FP. And I guarantee you that you'll never be alone again.'' She whispered quietly as he kept silent, staring into her eyes. There formed a slight smile on his face and he kissed her to thank her. He thanked her for being there for him, he thanked her for helping him through his journey, he thanked her for just being her.


End file.
